Chocolate Espresso Sponge Pudding (and How to Pinterest)

While I wait for Spring to fully arrive at the markets I am satisfying the deep sweet cravings with chocolate … and coffee. It’s an intense but exquisite pairing that one can very easily get addicted to. Doesn’t addiction come is so many forms?

I have to admit that there are times when I let myself get hooked onto a novel idea, element or feature and I will spend a good deal of time discovering and indulging into it. It keeps me constantly on my toes and I feel that some good comes out of the many addictions I have had in the past.

Photography would be one, food the other and putting it together I do not have to tell you where it led me. These past few weeks have been wonderfully busy for me in all sorts of ways. A few great photo jobs, features and articles in some German magazines and working on the contents of a few upcoming workshops and on other projects has kept me engaged. While this is all food for my photography addiction, I am missing my addiction of voyeurism!

I love browsing the internet going from blog to website, reading articles and getting caught up in beautiful images and leaving a comment here or there on things that move me. I love watching what material the Big Net produces.

One site I truly love is Pinterest: it feeds my addiction of ogling at all things gorgeous and I love collecting these beautiful things on my own boards. Shoes, stunning locations, exquisite kitchens, my schoolgirl crushes, words of inspiration - you name it - a pin and it is on my board! I love opening these boards for inspiration for whatever project I am working on. My fitness board motivates me to train sensibly, my color palettes board allows me to pair innovative color schemes while I style my food shot and my food photography board inspires me with new ideas. So, I use Pinterest as a style board, mood board or inspiration board. What makes Pinterest pretty neat is that like all social sharing sites you can share allowing you to collect more ideas and connect with like minded (or pinned) folk.

BUT …. and there is a big but … Pinterest has a very, at best described as, a grey area at how they address their terms and copyright issues. Currently there is a lot of blazing media coverage about Pinterest, causing many people to delete their Pinterest boards or accounts because the general thought is, it is illegal or plain wrong to be posting/pinning other people’s stuff.

As a photographer, I was on the verge of deleting my boards too. I am against copyright infringement and plagiarism and my first reaction was not to have any part of it. But then, the more I read the more I began to think about how things are evolving in our world. We exchange news, thoughts, emotions, provocations through smart phones, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, You Tube, many of us invite voyeurism into our own living rooms to be a part of what we do and be a part of who we are.

Pinterest is just another social sharing site that invites you to share your favorite things for the world to see. So far so good. How do I feel about my images being pinned all over Pinterest? I had mixed feelings about this (and to a certain extent still do). For starters, I have always marked my images with the URL of either my blog or portfolio - it is something I advise everyone to do. In the past I had to deal with copyright issues, where my watermark was literally cropped and added to websites or leading newspapers printing my images without permission. Both these cases were, in my opinion, copyright infringement with intent.

Don’t get me wrong - Pinterest does have a copyright problem and they really have to correct the way they operate and they need to change the way users are using Pinterest. One of the biggest issues that Pinterest needs to address is the way that Pinterest makes copies of the images people pin without creating a link to the original source. What happens is that it actually makes a copy of the image and while the copy does link back to the source from which the image was pinned it is not always the original source of the respective image. As copyright obviously prohibits making copies, this creates a big issue for Pinterest.

Pinterest is new territory and I think it’s hard to know how one should proceed. “Is Pinterest legal?” is the big question and after all the things I have read, I think the answer is - no one knows for sure. Fact is, Pinterest needs to hear what users are asking and make modifications to many aspects of their service - it is a great service, which can be made better if a lot of the issues on hand were addressed. I do know they are - they implemented a 500 character limit after a few mails sent by users, including myself, requesting this feature. Another feature I would love to see is creating private boards, where things I collect are reserved for me and I decide when and if I want to share.

I have made a few decisions about the way I plan to use Pinterest in the future. Until they make the required amendments I am throttling the use of Pinterest:

I am not deleting my Pinterest account. At this point I would like to see how Pinterest reacts to all the media and how they change. So, I will stick around for now.

I am going through a lot of my pins and will be deleting those photography based images of food, travel etc. and anything that does not come from the original source. In the past I have made the effort and many of the food images credit the photographer but I have not always been consistent. I will be going back to those and deleting them.

If I do pin photographs it will be from sites that explicitly have the “Pin it” button. It seems reasonable to me that if someone has added this button on their posts or blogs they are OK with people pinning.

I am discontinuing the usage of the “repin” function. I will check each pin and pin directly from the original source. The extra few clicks are worth it.

Instead I am using the “Like” function more and more as an intermediate “storage space” and point of reference.

The things I do pin I will add a nice teaser to encourage a click through to the original source where they will find a lot more details on the original post.

I am saving items I really like on my Evernote account. Two different tools, I know, but Evernote allows me to collect content without the copyright issues.

I also reserve the right to change my mind - as Pinterest is making an effort to change a few aspects and features I will be watching and will react accordingly. For now this is the status quo.

I won’t be able to tackle these points immediately but have already started “cleaning up” my boards. It’ll take some time but I’d like to continue to use Pinterest further, hopefully in the future not quite in the suppressed manner as I am planning to do, because let’s be honest, who wants to indulge in an addiction half-heartedly?

There is certainly nothing half-hearted about my dessert for you today. After all the thinking and re-thinking about what is correct and what is not, I needed something to boost my spirits, something I knew would be perfect for my chocolate and coffee addiction. No holding back and no throttling, although maybe it should be marked as illegal - it’s too darned good!

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a 18cm square form with butter and line baking paper.

Place 225g butter and chocolate in a bowl over a pot of simmering water and melt over a low-medium heat. Do not stir as it this will overwork the dark chocolate.

In a bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until pale and smooth. Fold in the chocolate mixture, then add the flour and baking powder and beat until smooth. Finally, beat in the coffee and 250ml boiling water. The batter should be thick and smooth Pour into the prepared form and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. If the pudding is still slightly sticky in the middle that is perfectly OK.

Cool for about 20-30 minutes before serving with your favorite ice-cream and some fresh raspberries.

Verdict

It’s decadently sticky and moist on the inside and intensely chocolaty. The subtle flavors of coffee highlights the sponge pudding giving it a brilliant boost. We enjoyed the sponge pudding still warm with scoops of dulche de leche ice cream and fresh raspberries. It’s quick and easy to make and great to make with kids.

Over on the Plate to Page website we’ve got a fantastic new example of the type of assignments participants work on during our 2.5 days workshop. A piece from Olivia Vasallo and Alexandra Asnaghi, two fabulously feisty Mediterranean ladies who attended our Tuscany 2011 Workshop. The assignment was to write and photograph for an article titled "Eating in Tuscany" in the style of a high-end foodie magazine such as Saveur. Hope you enjoy the read!

45 comments:

That pudding looks absolutely divine - more like a brownie! I'm fascinated by the ongoing debate that is Pinterest - for now I'd like to continue to enjoy using it, but carefully and accountably until any more information comes out.

I like the idea of pinning only stuff from pages with a 'pin it' button. That should cover the legalese problem with copyright infringement.

OTOH, I have marked all my flickr stuff as no-share, and I won't have ppl pinning my works. Why? I love having traffic come over from Pinterest, no doubt, but... on one hand they say, don't pin anything you don't have (c) or, on the other hand they say, don't promote yourself, so what?

The whole problem yould easily be solved by (a) Pinterest offering private boards and (b) clear TOS. I surely won't give Pinterest the right to sell my pictures - but I would be willing to pay for a service like pinterest, maybe with some extra features (better organizing of stuff and especially people and boards we follow). Is this going to happen? I don't know. The winner is Evernote at the moment.. after my account lay dormant for quite some time I am willing to look further into that and buy a subscription.

Thanks alot for your frank words about Pinterest. I love pinterest and fully agree with everything you said. I haven't been using the repin button but have always visited the original site from where the photo came from to pin from there. I think it is a nice way of finding new sites to enjoy - if I liked the pin I mostly liked the corresponding blog as well. A private board I would very much appreciate too to pin things I want to remember but not share.You have put into words what I couldn't have done likewise.Thanks again.Grüße von Christa

I always seem to be lost when it comes to Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, whatever... I flit from one to the other, barely posing down - I just never have time - so I rarely stop to try and understand how to use a space, figure out the difficulties and legal/privacy issues. I personally think we are so inundated with one new media site after another, each with new rules and uses that I get lost. And if I pause on one or the other I waste hours and hours I just can't afford to waste. On the other hand, they do bring me traffic, they are a fabulous way to meet, discover worlds of information and inspiration and communicate with like-minded souls and I don't know where I would be without them! Dilemma! And the chocolate espresso sponge pudding is calling my name! Wow! You've just pushed me into the kitchen to bake something chocolate!

I agree that Pinterest, though fabulous, has some copyright issues to work out. In the meantime, I see the Pin It button on my blogs as my invitation to pin those photos, and I look for that on other people's sites, too. I've also changed the copyright statement on my blogs to state that photos only may be pinned, but not recipes.

It is not so much the repinning that is the problem as it is repinning from pins not taken direct from the source.

Anything repinned direct from the source contains the source credit underneath the photo on your boards (this is one thing Pinterest did to address the problem) and if you click on the photo it goes straight to the original material.

I am an avid cook and while I also love food photography, I am pinning to mark the recipes from blogs that I want to try or use as inspiration in the future, so I always visit the original site to read about how the recipe went together. If a recipe source is there I will repin; if not, I hunt to find the original.

You do know that you, me and Jamie have ALL used those same napkins in a post in the past 2 weeks? LOL!! Gorgeous pud - like a decadent brownie!

The Pinterest debate is interesting to watch and much of it has taken on a hysterical tone. People are spreading scaremongering stories about lawsuits against individual users being imminent etc etc - and I think a lot of it is sensationalist. As I see it, yes, Pinterest does have some issues with its Terms of Service. It's not that the terms are vague - the terms are perfectly clear. The problem is that the terms shift all responsibility for copyright infringement onto individual users (which , incidentally, is also what Facebook and Tumbler do and no lynch mobs are gathering outside their doors!!). So yes, we need to have more of a think about what kinds of stuff we post (most bloggers see it as promotion; professional photographers and magazines may see it as theft); and how we pin (like you say - take the extra few minutes to find the original source to link to). And also bear in mind that before you can institute legal proceedings against somebody for copyright infringement, you usually first have to serve them with a notice to take down the infringing material, and only if they refuse will legal action ensue! So I think a lot of the panic has been blown WAY out of proportion. Great article & thanks for posting :)

I like this post, very well articulated and thought out rather than jumping on the band wagon. As we all know there are very few that consciously commit copyright infringement and those that do can most likely do it without Pinterest, however, I also look forward to Pinterest making changes that address concerns that are out there.As per usual your photos are amazing!

just on another note - just because a site has a 'pin-it' button does not mean you are not infringing on copyright as that site might not be using original content. They might have gotten permission to post a photo from a photographer, but that photographer didn't necessarily give permission to have it pinned from that site. Just thoughts.

I think this issue goes deeper than simply sourcing pins correctly. According to their TOS as they currently stand, the act of pinning gives Pinterest right to sell any pinned content. I'm not a lawyer so take this with a grain of salt, but to me there is no way that as a user I have the right to grant Pinterest ability to sell other ppl's' stuff without their permission - so I've deleted all my boards.

I'm with you Meeta. I'll wait and see how the service reacts to the criticism and media coverage and act accordingly. I agree that it's a great service, but I can't be part of copyright infringement. Great post as usual!

Love this cake...it's very brownie like in appearance. Which isn't a bad thing! As for pinterest. Too much hoo- ha for me! Just add it to the list of ever growing social networks. I'm sure it will sort itself out in the end!

wow! That looks so yum! I think it would satisfy my cravings for a brownie, puing and chocolate cake all in one! I too am addicted to Pinterest and will keep your points in mind while using it. I too think that while Pinterest needs to do their bit, we as users have to share responsibly too.

I too thought Pinterest was a good way for people to discover my recipes but today, oh the coincidence, I found many of my photographs pinned but linking to different sites and not my blog. It's the same as taking someone's photograph and adding it to your site. It's a shame actually.Anyway, love your pudding, Meeta. It looks like brownies!

Hi Meeta-I'm glad you are bringing these points about Pinterest to the table. The first time I saw one of my images pinned I was flattered. I'm not a photographer by trade, so I felt validated by the fact that others like my photos. Now I am noticing that photos from my blog by other photographers (which I credit right below the photo) are getting pinned without the credit. So there is a situation right there. Where would any blog be without photos to post yet one cannot control what happens when it is swiped by someone else and either pinned, or reblogged. Every night I monitor who has clicked into my blog and when I have found my photos have been used by someone I contact them and ask for their post to be revised to include my credit. It's hard to keep track of but even harder now due to Pinterest. I hope there is a solution soon. Thanks for starting the conversation.

Fantastic dessert Meeta. Anything chocolate works for me. I'm not comfortable posting anything on pinterest. Their terms of services give them the right to sell any posted images. If an artist sues they can go after the pinner directly because by pinning you are agreeing that you own all images you pin. Insane. More chocolate please.

I'm very new to Pinterest but I found this strange that long before I joined Pinterest...people were pinning pics from my blog..how is that possible? There are definitely copyright issues. Thank you for the useful info.

Pinterest is a wonderful visual board. It has inspired me in many aspects of my creative life. That being said I have made a very conscious effort to pin with an @...giving credit to where I pinned from. I know it is a hot subject with a lot of copyright type issues. I personally use integrity, in that I will repin something but if I use it/post about it I give full credit to it's original source. It's the perfect media for those of us that are visually oriented. I hope that Pinterest will someday always link back to the original source, until then I will use my own integrity because it's the right thing to do.

Great post Meeta, and I agree with your point of view on Pinterest. It will be interesting to see where they go with the copyright issue. I would hope that given their massive growth, and recent coverage on this issue that it is the forefront of their agenda to resolve.

Some excellent points raised here Meeta - it'll be really interesting to see how Pinterest goes. There seems to be less focus on something like Tumblr which depends a great deal on reblogging and things also can get lost from the original source. Lovely to see Lindt chocolate used - I really believe that you should cook with the good stuff. No nasty cooking chocolate for me! There is some lovely Lindt in the goodie bags for the Dubai workshop so you'll be able to have a bit of your addiction here in the UAE too!

Hey Meeta. Good to see your lovely blog again. I see you on FB quite a bit and saw this post yesterday! looove me some espresso-- this makes complete sense in my world.... i'll eat while i'm pinning away. and, hope they can figure it all out. too much at risk if not.

I've been reading the rumors and give it some (not extensive I must admit) thought and I'm glad to see that instinctively I try to do what you suggest here. Follow back to the origin, give credit where credit is due or an extra mention of the site sometimes. Will think about it some more and go back to my pins to see where I can do better.

I think your approach to modifying how you use pinterest is a good one. I think if Pinterest got rid of the repin option, gave members the ability to make their boards private and educated it's members better they could resolve many of these issues. Found you via the thread on Holly Becker's fb...gorg blog & pics by the way :-)

hello, thank you for all this information about pinterest, my self I just pin my articles and photographies, because like you said I don't wont to do wrong stuff, but to say the truth i'm trully happy in some peoples accounts, I discovred, magnificent websites and blogs.

Thanks for your insightful Pinterest analysis, nice to hear it from a photographer's point of view. I think chocolate is the only addiction that doesn't require a support group. "Hi, I'm Ken and I'm a PROUD chocoholic".

Fascinating topic. Giuliano has deleted his account but I've kept mine; however, I must admit I don't check it as often as I should and I have no idea who is repining what etc... I really appreciate your insight.

I agree with you on Pinterest and am keeping my boards. I think if used responsibly it can be a wonderful way to inspire and to be inspired and we should be conscientious in attributing credit and linking back to the original source. And now I'm off to pin this post!

No doubt, I am late in reading and posting regarding Pinterest. Hopefully, my response does not go unnoticed. I too, am currently and still concerned with Pinterest because a photo I posted to Food Gawker and Tastespotting was picked up by someone on pinterest. That one single photo went viral. It has been pinned and re-pinned over 30,000 times.When first surged over 6,000 views on my blog in one day, I was thrilled with the traffic. Then I really started following this surge and for the last two months, while I maintain an average of 800 views, very few have clicked on my other blog entries. This, despite I added an update expressing gratitude for the views and requesting people view my other recipes.Just when I thought views were calming down, last week, views to this same photo (blog entry) surpassed the higher number back in January by 600 more views, all derived from Pinterest.I have been told that when something is re-pinned at a high rate, it moves peoples boards up the chain allowing yet again, greater access, repeating the surge. I can't confirm this information.I read a recent article on Blog Her where "Simply Recipe" Blog's recipes and photos had been turned into an e-book and sold on Amazon. Amazon pulled the book but told "Simply Recipe" she would have to pursue royalties from the individual who she discovered was in Taiwan or Thailand. Who besides Walt Disney and Coca Cola have the money to track down a plagiaristic violator?My only conclusion is that as long as I want the public to view anything I post, I'm subject to theft of property. I always made certain my photos were too small to print but who prints anymore? In any event, I've decided to stop worrying about it or I'll find myself no longer blogging. My apologies for the rambling.

I hadn't made huge use of Pinterest yet so it's not been too traumatic to delete my boards and start from scratch.

I definitely want to use the site in some way however I've blocked it from pinning stuff from my own site for the time being. If my site only featured my own images I would find the decision straightforward, I would be happy to allow my images to be pinned in return for potential traffic and new readers.

However, as someone who frequently publishes: a) blog event round ups of other (possibly non-Pinterest permitting) bloggers' images and b) with permission, published images from books/third party sites/brands publicity materials etc ... I decided that with the Pinterest TOS as they stood, that potentially other users pinning these third party images might cause a problem that I ended up carrying the can for.

Thanks for the suggested tactics to work around the Pinterest issue, a lot of the recent hoo-har would not be happening if everyone had had a greater understanding of what is/is not acceptable when pinning images there in the first place.

Marry me Meeta...LOL! This is a pudding with my name written across it. YUM!Pinterest has had me in knots the past week. I deleted my account, but really love the site, so am back in now, but a lot more careful. No repins for me either. Like is a good idea. Thanks for the in depth analysis, a well written one. Miss you chica!!

Thank you all so much for all this valuable feedback and information. So glad you took the time to share your thoughts and opinion on Pinterest. I believe they are listening to what we are saying and making an effort to modify - I hope soon.

Also knew you would love the choc. espresso combination in this sponge pudding. Thanks for the comments!

Thank you for visiting What's For Lunch, Honey? and taking time to browse through my recipes, listen to my ramblings and enjoy my photographs. I appreciate all your comments, feedback and input. I will answer your questions to my best knowledge and respond to your comments as soon as possible.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy your stay here and that I was able to make this an experience for your senses.

Hello, I am Meeta a freelance food photographer, stylist and writer living in the cuturally rich city of Weimar, Germany with my husband and our son, where I enjoy preparing multi-cultural home cooked meals with fresh organic ingredients. What's for lunch, Honey? is my award winning food blog where I combine my love for food with my love for photography and styling...